Vehicle wheel balance weights

ABSTRACT

A vehicle wheel weight for attachment to a wheel rim that includes a mass portion formed of nonlead material and a clip is presented. The clip has an extended portion for engaging the wheel rim and an attachment portion juxtaposed to the mass portion. In addition, an injection molded outer casing surrounds the mass portion. The mass portion and the attachment portion of the clip are embedded in the casing, but the extended portion of the clip extends outwardly from and is external to the casing.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/879,812,filed Oct. 9, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,288,147, which '812 applicationis a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/536,353, filed Jun. 28,2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,157,501, which '353 application is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 13/297,815, filed Nov. 16, 2011,now abandoned, which '815 application is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 12/817,957, filed Jun. 17, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,066,335,which '815 is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/508,292, filedJul. 23, 2009, which '292 application is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 11/324,784, filed Jan. 3, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,566,101,which '784 application claims the benefit of provisional applicationSer. No. 60/641,110, filed Jan. 3, 2005. The '784 application is also acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/304,126, filed Dec. 15,2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,907, which '126 application is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 10/724,000, filed Nov. 26, 2003,which '000 application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.10/620,309, filed Jul. 15, 2003, which '309 application claims thebenefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/396,075, filed Jul. 15,2002, and provisional application Ser. No. 60/411,961, filed Sep. 19,2002. Each of the above-referenced applications, to which priority isclaimed, is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wheel balance weights.

In order to reduce excessive vibration, vehicle wheels are oftenbalanced by placing weights at selected locations. The weights include amass portion which is attached to the wheel's rim using a spring clip ora suitable adhesive. Due to high mass and low cost, such weights havebeen made of lead. Because of various factors, however, it is becomingdesirable to manufacture such weights of materials other than lead.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a variety of configurations for a vehiclewheel weight. Preferred embodiments utilize iron or low carbon steel formass instead of lead as has generally been used in the past. Manyembodiments are attached to the wheel using a spring clip preferablymade of spring steel. In such embodiments, a groove may be formed in thecenter section of the mass with a width that matches the spring clip asrequired to achieve the desired fit during assembly. Depth of the groovemay match the spring clip thickness or be slightly greater.

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle wheelweight for attachment to a wheel rim which comprises a mass portionformed of nonlead material and a clip. The clip has an extended portionfor engaging the wheel rim and an attachment portion juxtaposed to themass portion. In addition, an outer casing (or sleeve) which could beformed of injection molded plastic surrounds the mass portion. The massportion and the attachment portion of the clip are embedded in thecasing, but the extended portion of the clip extends outwardly from andis external to the casing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forthmore particularly in the remainder of the specification, includingreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view taken along line 1B-1B of FIG. 1Ashowing the wheel weight further mounted to the rim of a wheel;

FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a cross sectional view of the mass portion of a vehicle wheelweight in accordance with the present invention made solely of a nonleadmaterial such as iron or low carbon steel;

FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 2A but showing a massportion made of an outer sheath of nonlead material with lead on theinside;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention before material for retaining the clip is swaged into place;

FIG. 3B is a cross sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a view similar to FIG. 3A but with the retaining materialswaged into place;

FIG. 3E is a cross sectional view taken along line 3E-3E of FIG. 3D;

FIG. 3F is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 3F-3F of FIG.3D;

FIG. 4A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 4C-4C of FIG.4A;

FIG. 5A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5B is a cross sectional view taken along line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 5C-5C of FIG.5A;

FIG. 6A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is an enlarged cross sectional taken along line 6C-6C of FIG.6A;

FIG. 7A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view taken along line 7B-7B of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 7C-7C ofFIG. 7A;

FIG. 7D is an enlarged view of the clip shown in FIGS. 7A-7C;

FIG. 8A is a front elevational view of a vehicle wheel weightconstructed in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view taken along line 8B-8B of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is a bottom view of the wheel weight of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view diagrammatically illustrating one techniquefor producing the mass portion of nonlead wheel weights in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the mass material at thelocations indicated by lines 9A-9A and 9B-9B, respectively;

FIG. 10 is a plan view diagrammatically illustrating the steps that takeplace at the forming station indicated by line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an eighth embodiment of a vehicle wheelweight constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12A is a side elevational view of a tape-on version of a vehiclewheel weight constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12B is a plan view of the wheel weight of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12C is an enlarged view of the portion so indicated in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12D is an enlarged end view of the wheel weight of FIG. 12A;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of an alternative tape-weightconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14A is a side elevational view of a further tape-on weightconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14B is a plan view of the wheel weight of FIG. 14A;

FIG. 14C is an enlarged end view of the wheel weight of FIG. 14A;

FIG. 14D shows a vehicle wheel in section, with the wheel weight of FIG.14A mounted thereto;

FIG. 15A an exploded view of a vehicle wheel weight constructedaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15B is a perspective view of the vehicle wheel weight of FIG. 15A;

FIG. 15C is a side cross sectional view taken along line 15C-15C of FIG.15B;

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of a vehicle wheel weight having apartially cut-away portion to show mass portion constructed according toanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16B is a side cross sectional view taken along line 16B-16B of FIG.16A.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elementsof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplaryconstructions.

FIGS. 1A through 1C illustrate a vehicle wheel weight 10 constructed inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown,wheel weight 10 includes a mass portion 12 to which a spring clip 14 isattached. As shown, clip 14 (which may be made from spring steel) islocated in a groove 16 which has a depth preferably equal to or slightlygreater than the thickness of clip 14. As can be seen in FIG. 1B, clip14 serves to attach weight 10 to the rim 18 of a vehicle wheel.

As shown, clip 14 is preferably configured as a C-shaped member suchthat it “wraps around” mass portion 12 on the side opposite to rim 18.Clip 14 is retained in this case by one or more spot welds (such as spotweld 20) at suitable locations. For example, the spot weld may be madeat the point on the clip most distant from the wheel rim flange. This isto prevent tempering of the spring steel of clip 14 near the locationwhere the wheel rim is to be engaged.

Mass portion 12 is preferably made from a nonlead material havingsuitable mass, such as iron, low carbon steel or an impregnatedpolymeric. (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,422 to Sakaki et al., incorporatedherein by reference.) In FIG. 2A, mass portion 12 is preferably madeentirely of iron or low carbon steel. Often, a 1008 steel will beespecially preferred. FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative mass portion12′ in which an outer sheath 22 of nonlead metal is filled with lead 24.In this way the lead component is encased within a skin of steel orother suitable rugged material.

FIGS. 3A through 3F illustrate a wheel weight 30 constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown,weight 30 includes a mass portion 32 and a spring clip 34. In this case,clip 34 is attached via raised portions 36 (FIGS. 3A-3C) of massmaterial located at the sides of the groove in which clip 34 is seated.Raised portions 36 are then swaged over top of clip 34 (as indicated at38 in FIGS. 3D-3F) to cause an interference fit with the clip.

FIGS. 4A through 4C illustrate a wheel weight 40 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Weight 40includes a mass portion 42 defining a groove into which a spring clip 44is seated. Unlike the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3F, this embodiment doesnot utilize a raised area beside the groove. Instead, the sides of thegroove are swaged into the clip at points with a staking technique (asindicated at 46) to give a “stitched look.”

A further embodiment of a wheel weight 50 constructed in accordance withthe present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5A through 5C. Weight 50includes a mass portion 52 defining a groove into which a spring clip 54is seated. As indicated at 56, the sides of the groove are swaged intothe clip as described above except that a forming tool having a “wedge”shape is used to cause the top of the groove to close. In particular,the forming tool is pressed against the mass portion at respectivelocations adjacent to and outside of the sidewalls of the groove. Theresulting swage lines are clearly shown.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A through 6C, a wheel weight 60 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. Weight 60 includes a mass portion 62 defining a groove intowhich a spring clip 64 is seated. In this case, the spring clip 64 maybe approximately L-shaped (rather than C-shaped as in previousembodiments). As indicated at 66, an interference fit is created byproviding the clip with serrated edges which are pressed into a groovehaving a width slightly less than the clip width. In this embodiment, itmay be optionally desirable to also perform some swaging of material tofurther secure the interference fit.

FIGS. 7A through 7D illustrate a wheel weight 70 constructed inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Weight 70includes a mass portion 72 defining a groove into which an L-shapedspring clip 74 is seated. Sidewalls of the groove are thus adjacent toside edges of the attachment portion of the clip. To secure the twocomponents, at least one lateral feature is located at each of the sideedges of the clip's attachment portion. In this case, for example, thelateral feature may be in the form of an indention 75 defined in eachside of the clip. As shown in FIG. 7D, indention 75 may preferably havean arcuate shape, such as a ⅓ circle, and be spaced from the bottom edgeof the clip. As indicated at 76, the groove is swaged enough to forcemetal along the side edges of the attachment portion such that it willmove into the indention, as well as over portions of the top of theclip. For example, a “wedge” forming tool may be used as described abovewith reference to FIGS. 5A through 5C. As a result, the clip will befixedly secured to the mass portion.

FIGS. 8A through 8C illustrate a further embodiment in which a wheelweight 80 is constructed in accordance with the present invention. Itcan be seen that weight 80 is similar to weight 10, except the massportion 82 and spring clip 84 are joined with a suitable adhesive (asindicated at 86) instead of spot welding. Although a strip of structuraladhesive as shown in the drawing may often be sufficient, in many casesit will be desirable to apply the adhesive liberally over the matingsurfaces.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, one method of producing the massportion from iron or low carbon steel will be described. This methodutilizes raw material that is either round in cross-section or preformedwith a shape that is either the same as or is substantially similar tothe cross-section of the mass portion to be formed (such as round for awheel balance weight). One “piece” of raw material would contain enoughmaterial for numerous wheel weight masses. This may be either a long rod90 or a coil 92 with enough material for hundreds or thousands offinished mass portions.

In this case, the mass forming machinery comprises three subsystemsworking together.

These may be described as follows:

1. Material handling and supply 94 —Either an “uncoiler” or rod feedingequipment is provided to deliver the raw material (e.g., iron).

2. Forming rolls 96 and 98 (or other suitable rolling machine) areprovided to form the long (wheel size) radius and pre-form the shapethat will fit into the rim flange. The amount of pre-forming would beinversely proportional to the size of press being used.

3. A metal forming press 100 is used to finish the rim flange shape,form a groove for the wheel balance weight clip, stamp productinformation into the surface, and cut to the required length. The pressworking surfaces would be a die that may be progressive or not dependingon press size and part details. A large press forming a large part maybe able to form all surfaces and cut to length in one stroke.Alternatively, small parts may need to be made in a progressive fashionto get all forming surfaces to bear on a small area. A small press couldform a large part by using a progressive die and distributing the workover more than one press cycle.

As an alternative to the details shown in FIG. 10, it may be desirablein some cases to form the cut-off “Preform” prior to “Shape Finishing.”In fact some of the die operations might be done before the die. The diecould then be a stamping/trim die.

Finally, suitable corrosion protection materials may be applied afterassembling the mass and clip. Other finishing may or may not be requireddepending on customer finishing requirements.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a further embodiment of a wheel weight 110constructed in accordance with the present invention. Weight 110includes a mass portion 112 defining a cavity 114 in which spring clip116 is inserted. Specifically, mass portion 112 may be cold formed withcavity 114 form fitted inside the body of the weight. This willeliminate the need for having the clip extend over either the front orback of the clip. Preferably, the attachment portion of the spring clipincludes at least one surface irregularity, here in the form of a pairof holes 115, to facilitate retention of the attachment portion therein.When the securement cavity is closed after insertion of the attachmentportion of the spring clip, a small hump 117 remains due to thethickness of the clip.

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate an alternative embodiment in which the weightsmay be attached to the wheel rim using an adhesive coating (i.e., atape-on weight). Preferably, the mass portions are formed as a flexiblestring of nonlead mass material having a predetermined number ofsegments. A covering (i.e., a release liner) which protects the adhesiveis removed when it is desired to attached the mass portion(s) to thewheel. The illustrated embodiment has several significant features,including: (1) deep grooves formed into its surface to make the stringconformable to different size wheels, and (2) a unique pull tabarrangement.

As can be seen, tape-on weight 120 includes a mass portion formed as astrip 122 of suitable nonlead material. Strip 122 is divided into aplurality of segments 124 defined by respective grooves 126. Groove 126is formed as deep as possible, while leaving a small uncut zone 128 atthe bottom. Zone 128 permits the string to be flexed so as to conform tothe arc of the rim to which it is to be attached. Each of the segments124 will preferably have a predetermined weight, such as 5 grams.

In this embodiment, the adhesive is provided in the form of a two-sidedtape 130 attached to the bottom surface of string 122. Preferably, tape130 will include a conformable carrier of foam or the like havingadhesive on each side. A release liner 132 is located on the back sideof tape 130 so as to cover the adhesive until use. As illustrated inFIG. 12D, the release liner may actually be formed as two pieces of tape132A and 132B configured to provide pull tabs for easy removal. In thiscase, liner portion 132 a is folded back on itself as shown in FIG. 12D.

FIG. 13 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a tape weight 140constructed in accordance with the present invention. Weight 140includes a mass portion formed as a strip 142 of weight segments 143defined by transverse grooves 145. Groove 145 is configured to leave asmall uncut zone 146 near the bottom of strip 142. A double-sided tape147 is located on the back side of strip 142. A release liner 148 isprovided behind double-sided tape 147 so as to protect the adhesive.

A small tab 149 connected to (or integral with) release liner 148extends from the longitudinal end of strip 142 so as to facilitateremoval of release liner 148. In this case, tab 149 is formed as aseparate piece of tape which overlaps the end of release liner 148 (asindicated at 150) and overlaps itself (as indicated at 151). Siliconetapes are believed to be particularly suitable for tab 149.

Generally, weight 140 will be sold in a variety of different numbers ofsegments depending upon the total weight to be achieved. For example, atypical construction may have two to six segments of 5 grams each. As aresult, total weight will fall in a range of 10-60 grams. Larger weightsizes may also be desirable in certain applications.

Preferably, zone 146 will be as thin as possible in order to provide forgreatest flexibility. For example, embodiments are contemplated in whichthe thickness of zone 146 is about three thousandths of an inch.Generally, the thickness would not exceed twenty thousandths inpresently preferred embodiments.

It is also desirable that the width of groove 145 be substantial so asto prevent surface treatment bridging which adds stiffness to theoverall weight. Specifically, the weight may be subjected to a varietyof surface treatments in order to reduce corrosion and the like. Forexample, zinc plating (or zinc phosphate wash) followed by epoxy powderand painting may be employed. Making groove 145 of sufficient width willprevent these surface treatments from adding significant stiffness tothe overall weight. In presently preferred embodiments, the width ofgroove 145 will typically be at least fifty thousandths of an inch atits widest point (the mouth). Often, widths of around 130 thousandthswill be preferred.

Referring now to FIGS. 14A-14D, a further embodiment of a tape-on weightconstructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated. As can beseen, tape-on weight 160 is made of non-lead material, such as iron orlow carbon steel. The mass portion 162 of weight 160 is preformed in anarc having a radius approximating that of the surface to which it is tobe mounted. Dimensions (such as length) of the wheel weight aredetermined based on the desired mass. In addition, the weight must notbe made of a size (e.g., thickness and width) such that it wouldinterfere with the operation of other vehicle parts.

An adhesive (here in the form of a double-sided tape 164) is located onthe outer diameter of mass portion 162. Although mass portion 162 willgenerally be rigid, the presence of the adhesive will provide a degreeof elasticity (conformability) to accommodate varying wheel diameters.The adhesive is protected prior to use using a release liner 166, whichis in this example similar to release liner 132 (FIG. 12D).

FIGS. 15A through 15C illustrate a wheel weight 170 constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown,weight 170 includes a mass portion 172 and a spring clip 174. In thiscase, a longitudinal slot 176 is defined in mass portion 172 to receivethe end portion of clip 174. For example, mass portion 172 could beformed with a “V” shaped cross section. It should be appreciated thatmultiple mass portions could be formed by cutting an elongated piecehaving a slot into multiple segments.

Clip 174 is inserted into slot 176 of mass portion 172. To fix theposition of clip 174 in slot 176, mass portion 172 is crimped togetherto cause an interference fit, thereby embedding clip 174 into massportion 172. Preferably, clip 174 has surface irregularities 178, suchas a hole, groove or indentation, to which mass portion 172 can grip toaid in fixing the position of clip 174. As shown in FIG. 15C, forexample, mass portion 172 deforms into surface irregularities 178 ofclip 174 during crimping.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate a wheel weight 180 constructed inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown,weight 180 includes a mass portion 182 and a spring clip 184. In thiscase, a protective sleeve 186 surrounds mass portion 182 and fixes theposition of clip 184. For example, sleeve 186 could be injection-moldedplastic. Prior to injection molding, clip 184 and mass portion 182 couldbe loosely arranged together. However, the injection molding fixes theposition of clip 184 so that it can not move. Moreover, mass portion 182is protected from the environment by sleeve 186 to prevent corrosion.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, modifications and variations may be made thereto by those ofordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention. In addition, it should be understood that aspectsof the various embodiments may be interchanged both in whole or in part.Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theforegoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended tobe limitative of the invention as further described in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle wheel weight for attachment to a wheelrim, said wheel weight comprising: (a) a mass portion formed of nonleadmaterial, the mass portion including a longitudinal axis and a crosssection including a wheel-facing portion and a clip-facing portion; (b)a clip including an extended portion for engaging said wheel rim betweena first clip extremity, located at a first end of the extended portion,and a clip intermediate portion, the clip further including a massattachment portion generally juxtaposed to said clip-facing portion ofthe mass portion between a second clip extremity, located at a secondend of the attachment portion, and the clip intermediate portion; (c) aninjection molded outer casing surrounding said mass portion, with saidmass portion and said mass attachment portion of said clip beingembedded in said casing, but with said extended portion of said clipextending outwardly from and being external to said casing; and (d)wherein said clip intermediate portion is abutting said clip-facingportion of said mass portion.
 2. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said intermediate portion includes a radiusinterconnecting said extended portion with said mass attachment portion.3. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein a thicknessof said outer casing is greater than a thickness of said attachmentportion of said clip.
 4. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1,wherein an interior surface of said casing conforms to an exteriorconfiguration of said mass portion and of said attachment portion of theclip on the mass portion as together embedded in said casing, but anexterior surface of said casing conforms to a shape of a mold in whichthe casing is formed.
 5. A wheel weight as set forth in claim 4, whereinthe exterior surface of said casing is of generally uniformcross-sectional shape along said length of the wheel weight.
 6. Avehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonleadmaterial comprises iron.
 7. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim1, wherein said nonlead material comprises low carbon steel.
 8. Avehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonleadmaterial comprises 1008 steel.
 9. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said mass portion is cold formed.
 10. A vehicle wheelweight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mass portion has an arcuateshape.
 11. A method of manufacturing a vehicle wheel weight for engaginga rim of a wheel for use in balancing the wheel, said method comprising:(a) providing a mass portion formed of nonlead material, the massportion including a longitudinal axis and a cross section including awheel-facing portion and a clip-facing portion; (b) providing a clipincluding an extended portion for engaging said wheel rim between afirst clip extremity, located at a distal end of the extended portion,and an intermediate portion, the clip further including an attachmentportion generally juxtaposed to said clip-facing portion of the massportion between a second clip extremity, located at a proximal end ofthe attachment portion, and the intermediate portion; (c) positioningsaid attachment portion of said clip at a selected location adjacent tosaid mass portion; (d) encasing said mass portion and said attachmentportion of said clip with an injection molded outer casing surroundingsaid mass portion, with said mass portion and said attachment portion ofsaid clip being embedded in said casing, but with said extended portionof said clip extending outwardly from and being external to said casing;and (e) wherein said extended portion is abutting said clip-facingportion of said mass portion.
 12. A method as set forth in claim 11,wherein said intermediate portion includes a radius interconnecting saidextended portion with said mass attachment portion.
 13. A method as setforth in claim 11, wherein a thickness of said outer casing is greaterthan a thickness of said attachment portion of said clip.
 14. A methodas set forth in claim 11, wherein an interior surface of said casingconforms to an exterior configuration of said mass portion and of saidattachment portion of the clip on the mass portion as together embeddedin said casing, but an external surface of said casing conforms to ashape of a mold in which the casing is formed.
 15. A method as set forthin claim 14, wherein the exterior surface of said casing is of generallyuniform cross-sectional shape along said length of the wheel weight. 16.A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said nonlead materialcomprises iron.
 17. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein saidnonlead material comprises low carbon steel.
 18. A method as set forthin claim 11, wherein said nonlead material comprises 1008 steel.
 19. Amethod as set forth in claim 11, wherein said mass portion is coldformed.
 20. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said mass portionhas an arcuate shape.